The 1960s music scene undeniably was dominated
by bands from America and Britain. The power and allure of the Western world
allowed their recordings to spread around the globe, where they quietly
infiltrated the cultures of many different civilizations. Only with recent
technological advancements, however, has it become clear how widespread this
influence was. Southern California’s surf-rock movement combined with the heavy
usage of Farfisa organs, for example, to play a role in the development of
Peruvian Chicha as well as Cambodian pop. While traveling across Southeast Asia,
Ethan Holtzman was struck by the sounds that were blaring from tape recorders as
he moved along city streets. After returning home to Los Angeles, Holtzman began
searching for a vocalist who could help him recreate the songs he had heard.
Nine years later, Dengue Fever — an outfit that includes Holtzman, his brother
Zac, and singer Chhom Nimol — seems to be poised on the verge of a major
breakthrough. The outfit’s latest endeavor Venus on Earth might be
uneven, but there are moments when the collection approaches the captivating
energy of Dengue Fever’s live performances. On May 21, the ensemble will perform
at Chicago’s Empty Bottle, where it will be joined by I Kong Kult and Aleks and
the Drummer.

Within the span of just a few months, Carole King and James Taylor watched
their hopes and dreams become reality. Their first joint appearance at Los
Angeles’ Troubadour — the club for emerging talent — occurred in late
1970 when they both were relatively unknown artists. In the wake of Taylor’s
blockbuster hit single Fire & Rain as well as King’s career-defining
album Tapestry, the duo returned to the intimate club in 1971 as
superstars. Both Taylor and King have seen their popularity rise and fall over
the years, though they each also have developed a well-established corps of
fans. In 2007, King and Taylor returned to the Troubadour to pay homage to the
venue’s 50th anniversary. Earlier this month, their collaborative
performance was preserved on the two-CD, one-DVD collection Live at the
Troubadour. It is highly doubtful that King and Taylor will make any major
modifications to their show prior to their stop at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena on
May 24. Hopefully, they won’t have refined their presentation too much, as some
level of spontaneity will be necessary for them to overcome the vacuousness of
the arena. A multiple-night engagement at the much-smaller Rosemont Theatre
certainly would have been preferable, but the allure of seeing these legendary
songwriters as they unite once again is too great to pass up.

Bob Marley became the face of reggae, but there
are many other artists whose output was equally vital to the development of the
genre. Six years ago, Toots Hibbert’s profile was given a serious boost by the
release of True Love. Throughout the star-studded set, Hibbert revisited
a number of his classic compositions, and although the new versions didn’t
achieve the same magical aura of the originals, their presentation was both
effective and accessible. Capitalizing upon the outcome, Hibbert has been
touring the U.S. with remarkable regularity ever since. On his latest set Flip and Twist, he continues to explore reggae’s roots in American R&B. Some
tracks sound like lost moments from the Motown-era, while others push closer to
the modern age of hip-hop. Hibbert will emphasize material from Flip and Twist
throughout his upcoming tour, and, of course, he always has an extraordinary
canon on which he can fall back. Hibbert will bring his soulful, transcendent
style to Milwaukee’s Turner Hall Ballroom on May 26. He also will perform on May
27 and May 28 at Chicago’s House of Blues, where he will be joined by the
long-running British act Steel Pulse.

5/31 - Broken Bells - Vic Theatre - Chicago - 7:30 p

By bringing together The Shins’ James Mercer and famed producer Danger Mouse,
Broken Bells has a distinct advantage in the indie-pop scene. Considering the
talent and name-recognition of its participants, the group had no difficulty
finding a label or generating a buzz. Even so, the amount of hype that preceded
the release of Broken Bells’ self-titled debut was so ridiculously over-the-top
that the collection likely was a letdown to many prospective fans. Viewed
without the absurdly high expectations that were placed upon it, the eponymous
endeavor is proven to be a solidly engineered exploration of cinematic ’60s pop.
When it performed at South by Southwest in March, Broken Bells stumbled because
it adhered too closely to the script it had concocted in the studio. Although
this strategy might work for its first tour, which stops at Chicago’s Vic
Theatre on May 31. To succeed over the long haul, however, Broken Bells must
jettison its polished approach in favor of taking greater risks.